QUICK WINS
PART OF THE LEAN MINDSET
Focusing on Quick Wins
Sometimes when observing a process, you may see a problem that is very simple to fix. An improvement that takes only moments to implement can have a big effect on the workflow. We call these “Quick Wins”. You should train your employees to look for these quick wins when improving their areas. Not all improvements have to be massive, company-altering changes.
By following this idea, improvements can be made quickly and easily during the working day. Larger improvements can still be implemented at a later date, but in the meantime, the process has still seen improvement.
Example
For example, in the toy factory, the assembly department need an M6 spanner to bolt a wheel to a wooden car. Often, the operator picks up the M8 spanner by mistake and uses it to no effect.
The bigger improvement would be to eliminate the need to find a spanner, and eliminate the need to bolt the part on. This could end up being a robotic automation, a re-design of the product. This could take a while, and may need to a collaborative improvement.
A “Quick Win” could be to just:
- Remove the M8 spanner from the workbench to avoid misusing it. Part of the 3S process.
- Colour-code the tools to clearly mark which one is M6 and which one is M8.
- Label the tools with the correct sizing.
All of these improvements would be “Quick Wins”. Each one will take the operator a few seconds to a few minutes and it has made an immediate improvement in the area. These are the easiest types of improvements to teach newcomers as they only require basic knowledge of the area they are working in.
